"Do we have to do something? Like what we did to get here?"

  "No, this time is a little different. Remember a while ago, when I had to talk to Karina and asked her to do a little thing? Now it will come to help us."

  "How so?"

  "Think of this as a door to a tunnel. But for you to get out on the other side, someone has to open the door on that place, too."

  "But we didn't do that when we arrived here..."

  "It was a little different; I used your connection with the ancient magic as a conductor, so I myself was able to open both doors."

  "And why don't you repeat it?"

  "What is it about not using magic from other deities here that you don't understand?"

  "Fine, fine, May. I was trying to come up with different possibilities, you know? I mean, what if Karina had been captured and wasn't able to open said door?"

  A glint of something appeared in May's eyes, but Wren wasn't able to tell exactly what it was. The girl simply answered:

  "Well, I trust Karina with my life. I know she would do everything and anything in her power to open that door."

  "If you say so. But it's not like I have any other options, right? And staying here might be worse than trying whatever you're trying." Wren said, before he continued. "Now it's a matter of waiting, right?"

  "Yeah, now that we arrived here, if Karina did everything right, this portal will connect with the one she did. Then it will open up."

  "You know what is scaring me the most now? We don't know what is waiting for us there."

  "The situation can be complicated. I hope Karina is alright." May looked down at her feet. And she noticed the circle as it glowed even more intensely.

  ***

  Karina was worried. She knew that if she had done anything wrong, May wouldn't be able to get back. So, the girl checked the circle for the millionth time, while also trying to be careful of the enchantments she had placed on the door. The girl knew that the guards at the Casino could burst the door open at any moment.

  "I don't know why they haven't arrived yet, but I'm thankful for that. I wouldn't be able to fight them all by myself." Karina thought to herself. "Anyways, let's check this again. I guess I did the same as it was in May's journal..."

  And once again, Karina looked at the symbols and images she drew in the circle. It glowed with magic.

  "That's it, for sure. Now I have to wait a little."

  And in fact, Karina hadn't had to wait much. It was subtle, but she noticed the shift in the magic. It was a faint difference in the magic inside the magical circle. Like a force trying to connect, from a different place.

  Karina reached her hands forward and let her own magical power flow through her body. It went from inside of her, the heart and the brain, to the tip of her fingers. The power flowed until it touched the magical circle. Inside it, the mist swirled and glowed.

  "It's very delicate. I need to be careful." Karina breathed in. "I let the door in. I invite you in. Crossing the dimensions."

  From the middle of the circle, a single thread of light appeared. It started small, but it got progressively bigger and bigger. From the middle of the light, a figure formed, followed closely by a second one. And in a blink, May and Wren were in the middle of the room.

  "Finally! I thought we would never get out of there!" Wren said before he looked at Karina. "Hey, K. Long time no see."

  "May, Wren! I'm so happy you're alright! What happened there?"

  "A lot, K. I'm afraid we don't have the time to explain everything, as-"

  May's words were cut short because Wren fell, and his knees hit the ground. With his hands on his head, the man screamed in pain.

  "Wren! What's happening? May, what's happening to him?"

  "I-I don't know. Maybe we've done something wrong. He was trapped there for a long time."

  "I-It's not-" Wren tried to say. "You didn't do anything wrong. My memories. They are coming back. Ugh."

  The man screamed in pain. Karina tried to use a spell to ease the pain, but it didn't help.

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  But when it stopped, Wren was even more afraid than before. His face was completely pale when he looked in the direction of the girls.

  "Oh. I can't believe it. May, Karina, what are you doing here? What the hell are you doing here?"

  "Hey, are you confused? Did you lose your memory again? We got you out of the maze!"

  "I'm not confused. I remember it all. I ask again, what the hell are you doing here in the Casino? What is your mission?"

  "Wren, you're scaring me."

  "May, I'm serious. The last message I sent before I was captured." Wren looked down in despair. "You two are Base hunters."

  The man started to laugh. But there wasn't any tint of humor in his laugh. His hands pulled his own hair.

  "Please, explain to us then, what's happening here. Please, explain."

  "Let me tell you, Karina. This mission, everything here. I discovered that it might be a mission for a B-Hunter or, dare I say, even an A-Hunter. Why would they send two Base hunters here? Do they want you dead?"

  Karina and May stared at Wren in silence for a moment.

  "K, you got to admit, it all makes sense. This mission has been strange so far. Full of things getting out of our hands."

  "But May, we're not that important. Why would they send us on a mission like this? The Agency of all things. They wouldn't send hunters just to die in the middle of a mission. Especially one like this, it would be a lot of exposition."

  "You should consider that you were sabotaged. I mean, I would doubt the person who assigned you the mission at this point."

  "Maybe he has a point. That man... He was strange. But what do we do now?"

  "I don't know, K. We've been exposed. I don't think we have any other option. We've got to fight till the end."

  "Yeah, right now this is yours, I mean, our only chance to survive," Wren said, and he looked at each of the girls. "We'll need to fight. And right now, there are probably a couple of guards coming to get us. If I had to bet, I would say they probably send some mid-tier guards now. They want to be sure they finish the job. So what we do next will probably determine if we survive or not."

  "I don't like at all where this is going..." Karina said, and she looked to both May and Wren. "I told you about the things I saw while you were trapped. The Preacher... He's involved with everything here. I don't know how, but he's part of the thing."

  "Yeah, you said it, K. And that they're hypnotizing people. But why are they doing it?"

  "I guess we're about to discover. I hope it's something we can deal with."

  Wren walked from one side to the other in the room. His hand was still on his head, and he pressed his temples.

  "This is the worst-case scenario. There's something wrong with the Agency. There's no way they would receive my message and send you here." Wren paused for a moment. "Not that I'm underestimating you girls. I mean, damn, you know I'm just a D-Hunter. I myself was about to run away from here when they got me."

  "We're almost in a full team here. But this is no minor monster we're fighting. We have to think of a plan, please, Wren. Tell us what you have discovered. Maybe there's something that can help."

  "Well, my memory is still... blurry in some spots. I don't know how to explain. They used a pretty damn strong spell on me. I guess they were worried that their plan would leak. I remember lying low for a while, like you two probably did too. I was investigating the person leading the scheme. But... I don't know, I don't think I saw his face. But I remember he was looking for something. A book? Or something like that."

  "Well, that doesn't give us a lot to work with. But connecting to what Karina had discovered. What both of us have been investigating. Now we know for sure that people were being hypnotized. I knew there was something wrong with those games. People were too engaged with them. And you felt it too, K. There was some enchantment there."

  "Yeah, I sure did. And the room, guys, you should've seen it too. There was some sort of paper with an enchantment. I wish I were able to identify it! And that television playing... It was creepy."

  "Talking about that... What was that thing with the Preacher? We saw him there the other day. Do you think he's using it too? I mean, he grew quite fast in the media and politics sphere. I wouldn't doubt it."

  Wren pondered for a moment, and his memory emerged in his head. He tried to remember something, but he couldn't exactly tell what it was.

  "That's very strange for sure. I wouldn't take a religious man for someone who enjoys casinos and places like that. He's a mysterious figure."

  "Do you guys think that he's a wizard? If so, the Agency would be breathing down his neck for sure. Using his powers like that, there's always the risk of getting exposed. I don't believe they would let him be running like this."

  Karina looked wide-eyed, like she remembered something very important. A detail that was being forgotten.

  "Hey, guys! There's something strange about the Agency. I was attacked by another hunter the other night. In this very room, May. They got here while I was asleep, and they placed me under a constraint spell."

  "Oh, Karina! I'm so sorry I wasn't here to help you. What did they do to you?"

  "They mostly talked to me... It was odd, they said all these things about the Agency, and our mission. They wanted to know what our mission was, what we had been investigating. They were strong; I wasn't able to break free from their spell." Karina looked down at her own feet.

  "Hey, don't be sad. I bet you did your best, K. We will get stronger in our own rhythm. You'll see."

  "I heard it once about factions inside the Agency... It's a rumor, or at least I thought so. They say that there are a few factions inside the place. Most of them are working in the shadows, with their own agenda and missions. There's a lot of secrecy about it all; it's all hush-hush. I heard that they have their own signs and identifiers; they always know when they're talking to someone from the same faction. But as I said, I always thought it was a rumor."

  "Well, it seems there's more truth to it than we imagined. I have never heard of it. I hope this other hunter, whoever they are, I mean, is it possible they're against us? We don't have a faction."

  "Yeah, this is off. Maybe they thought you guys were rivals. I don't know, if I were part of something like this, I would be suspicious of everyone. I mean-"

  May interrupted Wren; she pulled the man's arm. Karina looked at her, about to ask something. But the look in May's eyes told the girl to stay silent.

  "Did you feel it?"

  Both Wren and Karina shook their heads. But then, the man looked to the side, to the door.

  "It's coming. There's something coming to us. They're here."

  But Wren didn't even get to finish the sentence before something exploded outside.